泊位 (bó wèi) — berth (for ships); anchorage; parking space (for vehicles)

Definition

noun
berth (for ships)anchorageparking space (for vehicles)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 泊位。
    Zhè ge gǎng kǒu yǒu shí gè wàn dūn jí bó wèi.
    This port has ten 10,000-ton-class berths.
  • 泊位。
    Chuán zhèng zài děng dài kòng chū bó wèi.
    The ship is waiting for a berth to become available.
  • 泊位。
    Xiǎo qū dì xià chē kù de bó wèi hěn jǐn zhāng.
    Parking spaces in the community's underground garage are very tight.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

泊bóanchor/berth
位wèiposition

泊 (anchor/berth) and 位 (position) combine to mean a place where a ship or vehicle is moored.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái泊bó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 水 part shows water. The 白 part gives the sound, and the picture is of a ship staying still after running aground in shallow water.

Open 泊 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →

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